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Friday, 2 November 2012

Scarlet Read-Along: First Thoughts

The first assignment of the read-along for A. C. Gaughen's Scarlet is to post our thoughts on the 1st chapter: No one really knows 'bout me. I'm Rob's secret, I'm his informant, I'm his shadow in dark places.Scarlet definitely interested me from its opening lines; the first chapter was easy to breeze through in minutes and it made me want to read more. Scarlet's voice is written with a Northern English accent and grammar-style, which is a nice way of making her sound distinctive and it adds to the roughness of her character. It's similar to the style of The Assassin's Curse, which I'm also reading, but I think it fits better in Scarlet, as it is how characters in Nottingham would speak.So far, Scarlet is about as soft as my two front teeth - she's very sharp-tongued and aggressive in the first chapter, but she's also putting her life on the line helping the poor, so she gets a lot of points with me. Rob will likely turn out to be her vulnerability, as Scarlet's feelings for him are already being hinted at - as are John's feelings for her. The thread that's been introduced that interests me most, though, is the idea that Scarlet has some sort of past with Gisbourne, the thief-catcher.Right now I'm liking the spin Gaughen has put on the Robin Hood story and I'm very happy to keep reading.

2 comments:

It does make her sound distinctive! I can't wait to see Scarlet prove herself as strong as she portrays herself verbally. I agree about the feelings hinted all around. I do love a good love story, and I can't wait to see what could happen in that way.

Very well said! I love Scarlet's pattern of speech - I've heard some people say they had a problem with it, but I love it because it makes her completely different, and it feels so authentic. When I read an historical novel, I like to feel like I'm being transported to that time and place, and within 11 short pages, Gaughen has already done that. I'm curious about Gisbourne too. I'm just curious, period! So glad you're enjoying it too. :-)

About Me

I live in London, England. By day I'm an English teacher and by night I read and now, review books. My favourite genres are YA, Historical Fiction and Fantasy, and especially any combination of these 3.